The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued show cause notices to the director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences and the Union Health Minister on the basis of a petition accusing them of violating court direction to frame guidelines for the appointment of a registrar in the institution.

Justice Gita Mittal asked AIIMS director P Venugopal and Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss to file their replies by October 31 on the contempt petition of one Dr Manoj Kumar.

The court also asked them to give reasons for the delay in complying with the March 7 order, when the court had asked them to frame guidelines for the appointment of a registrar.

The court had earlier asked them to frame the guidelines within six weeks, after Kumar filed a petition pointing out that the absence of rules and guidelines had led to the ad-hoc registrar continuing to occupy the post.

The petitioner had alleged that the director had said that he had the authority to appoint the registrar while Ramadoss, who is also ex-officio president of the institute, claimed he was the appointing authority.

Kumar also brought to the court's notice that students were suffering because of the differences between the AIIMS director and the health minister.